Books with title Classic Starts®: Great Expectations

'Great Expectations is up there for me with the world's greatest novels' Howard Jacobson. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadCharles Dickens's Great Expectations charts the course of orphan Pip Pirrip's life as it is transformed by a vast, mysterious inheritance. A terrifying encounter with the escaped convict Abel Magwitch in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decrepit Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella at Satis House; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble station as an apprentice to blacksmith Joe Gargery, beginning a new life as a gentleman. Charles Dickens's haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his identity, and his 'great expectations'. This definitive version uses the text from the first published edition of 1861. It includes a map of Kent in the early nineteenth century, and appendices on Dickens's original ending and his working notes, giving readers an illuminating glimpse into the mind of a great novelist at work. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

When young Pip accidentally meets a convict out in the marsh one Christmas Eve, he has no idea that his life is about to change--forever. The amazing events following that encounter, and the strange tale of Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, have made Great Expectations a must-read since it was first serialized in 1860. Now, young readers can enjoy Dickens’s engrossing story in this simplified yet thrilling version.

"Great Expectations" is the classic novel by Charles Dickens that traces the life of an orphan named Pip, beginning at age seven, from Christmas eve 1812 to the winter of 1840. At the center of the novel is a complicated set of themes that can be simplified by the idea that the affection of love and loyalty of friendship are more important than aspirations for wealth and to a higher social class. "Great Expectations" is one of the great classics of the English language.

Written in the last decade of Dickens' life, 'Great Expectations' was praised widely and universally admired. It was his last great novel, and many critics believe it to be his finest. Readers and critics alike praised it for its masterful plot, which rises above the melodrama of some of his earlier works, and for its three-dimensional, psychologically realistic characters—characters much deeper and more interesting than the one-note caricatures of earlier novels.It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens's weekly periodical 'All the Year Round', from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early to mid-1800s. The Great Expectations contains some of Dickens most memorable scenes, including its opening, in a graveyard, when the young orphan Pip is accosted by the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. It is full of extreme imagery, poverty, prison ships, barriers and chains, and fights to the death. Upon its release, Thomas Carlyle spoke of "All that Pip's nonsense". Later, George Bernard Shaw praised the novel as "All of one piece and consistently truthfull". Dickens felt Great Expectations was his best work, calling it "a very fine idea".Throughout the narrative, typical Dickensian themes emerge: wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil. This book has become very popular and is now taught as a classic in many English classes. It has been translated into many languages and adapted many times in film and other media.Charles Dickens:Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.The second of eight children, he grew up in a family frequently beset by financial insecurity. At age eleven, Dickens was taken out of school and sent to work in London backing warehouse, where his job was to paste labels on bottles for six shillings a week. His father John Dickens, was a warmhearted but improvident man. When he was condemned the Marshela Prison for unpaid debts, he unwisely agreed that Charles should stay in lodgings and continue working while the rest of the family joined him in jail. This three-month separation caused Charles much pain; his experiences as a child alone in a huge city – cold, isolated with barely enough to eat – haunted him for the rest of his life.When the family fortunes improved, Charles went back to school, after which he became an office boy, a freelance reporter and finally an author. With 'Pickwick Papers' (1836-7) he achieved immediate fame; in a few years he was easily the most popular and respected writer of his time. It has been estimated that one out of every ten persons in Victorian England was a Dickens reader. 'Oliver Twist' (1837), 'Nicholas Nickleby' (1838-9) and 'The Old Curiosity Shop' (1840-41) were huge successes. 'Martin Chuzzlewit' (1843-4) was less so, but Dickens followed it with his unforgettable, 'A Christmas Carol' (1843), 'Bleak House' (1852-3), 'Hard Times' (1854) and 'Little Dorrit' (1855-7) reveal his deepening concern for the injustices of British Society. 'A Tale of Two Cities' (1859), 'Great Expectations' (1860-1) and 'Our Mutual Friend' (1864-5) complete his major works.

When young Pip accidentally meets a convict out in the marsh one Christmas Eve, he has no idea that his life is about to change--forever. The amazing events following that encounter, and the strange tale of Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, have made Great Expectations a must-read since it was first serialized in 1860. Now, young readers can enjoy Dickens’s engrossing story in this simplified yet thrilling version.

Considered by many to be Dickens' finest novel, Great Expectations traces the growth of the book's narrator, Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dickens' most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Haversham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted room-mate Herbert Pocket and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own 'great expectations' in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him towards maturity and his most important discovery of all - the truth about himself.

Introduction by John Irving • Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadPip, a poor orphan being raised by a cruel sister, does not have much in the way of great expectations—until he is inexplicably elevated to wealth by an anonymous benefactor. Full of unforgettable characters—including a terrifying convict named Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham, and her beautiful but manipulative niece, Estella, Great Expectations is a tale of intrigue, unattainable love, and all of the happiness money can’t buy. “Great Expectations has the most wonderful and most perfectly worked-out plot for a novel in the English language,” according to John Irving, and J. Hillis Miller declares, “Great Expectations is the most unified and concentrated expression of Dickens’s abiding sense of the world, and Pip might be called the archetypal Dickens hero.”

Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Pip doesn't expect much from life...His sister makes it clear that her orphaned little brother is nothing but a burden on her. But suddenly things begin to change. Pip's narrow existence is blown apart when he finds an escaped criminal, is summoned to visit a mysterious old woman and meets the icy beauty Estella. Most astoundingly of all, an anonymous person gives him money to begin a new life in London. Are these events as random as they seem? Or does Pip's fate hang on a series of coincidences he could never have expected?

This is the BEST version of Great Expectations you will find for your Kindle. Here's how it's different from the rest:• This edition includes illustrations from the original publication of this work, by artist Charles Green• You are getting the full, unabridged text• In addition to OCR software, this text has been meticulously proofed by human eyes• Spelling, punctuation and other minor errors have been corrected• Many formatting changes have been applied to ensure an optimal reading experience on your Kindle screen, including:○ Removal of excess white space○ Indentation of paragraphs○ italicization of text where appropriate• For easier navigation, an active Table of Contents with selectable links has been added• This edition also includes a custom cover designed specifically for this title, to evoke the feeling of an old-fashioned, leather-bound hardcover (without the bulk of an actual paper book!)• Finally, the actual file is DRM free, for your convenienceYou are highly encouraged to download a sample and preview this exquisitely prepared edition for yourself. Compare it against other samples and you will find that no other edition reads as comfortably and as beautifully on your Kindle as this one does. Don't settle for an inferior edition when you can have the best!Happy reading!--------------------------------------------------Information about this title:Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times.Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing about his life (and attempting to become a gentleman along the way). The novel, like much of Dickens' work, draws on his experiences of life and people.The main plot of Great Expectations takes place between Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old (and which happens to be the year of Dickens' birth), and the winter of 1840.Great Expectations is written in first person and uses language and grammar that has, since the publication of Great Expectations, fallen out of common use. The title Great Expectations refers to the 'Great Expectations' Pip has of coming into his benefactor's property upon his disclosure to him and achieving his intended role as a gentleman at that time. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, a novel depicting growth and personal development, in this case, of Pip.Some of the major themes of Great Expectations are crime, social class, empire and ambition. From an early age, Pip feels guilt; he is also afraid that someone will find out about his crime and arrest him. The theme of crime comes in to even greater effect when Pip discovers that his benefactor is in fact a convict. Pip has an internal struggle with his conscience throughout the book. Great Expectations explores the different social classes of the Georgian era. Throughout the book, Pip becomes involved with a broad range of classes, from criminals like Magwitch to the extremely rich like Miss Havisham. Pip has great ambition, as demonstrated constantly in the book.